field notes | cultivating personal taste in the age of AI

How to achieve joie de vivre

It’s rare to receive a gift that’s both perfect, and yet completely unexpected. On my 22nd birthday a dear friend handed me a package with the comment, “someone gave this to me, and I immediately thought of you; I know how much you like coffee table books.”

It’s true. If someone hands me a well bound collection of delightful photographs, then they’ve clearly done something right. However, this book was something else.

This is the only coffee table book I’ve ever read cover to cover. On the surface it’s yet another book about travel. Inside you’ll find a list of cities to visit, photography tips and pictures of luggage, but ultimately the volume offers so much more than travel advice.

It’s a “how-to” guide, but not on where to go or what to see. Instead, this rare book explains how to achieve effortless joie de vivre.